Dublin GPO Opens 1916 Visitors’ Center

A new immersive exhibit is slated to open at Dublin’s General Post Office in March as part of the Irish government’s commemoration program for 1916. The exhibit – dubbed the “G.P.O. Witness History Interpretive Exhibition Centre” – was developed by Shannon Heritage, one of Ireland’s largest and longest-running visitor experience operators.

The exhibit will be located in the inner eastern courtyard of the G.P.O., and anticipates hosting some 300,000 visitors annually. Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys says that “G.P.O. Witness History will leave us with a lasting legacy from Ireland 2016 and will be a fantastic addition to Dublin’s tourism offering.”

Shannon Heritage won the $8.65 million contract to manage the exhibit back in 2015, which, according to their website, will feature “special effects, soundscapes and heartfelt stories of real people in extraordinary circumstances” that “will captivate all age groups, from the curious, young international visitor to the well – informed history buff.”

The G.P.O. was not only the place where Pádraig Pearse read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic before the rebels of 1916 transformed it into the headquarters for the leaders of the Easter Rising, but was also Dublin’s epicenter of daily life and communication. Accordingly, G.P.O. Witness History reminds potential visitors that “in the course of its long history, the G.P.O. has witnessed much more than the events of Easter Week” as they invite them “to dive into that history and discover the many tales it has to tell.” ♦